Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, if he will take steps to offer incentives to encourage more solicitors to offer pro bono work.
Answered by Robert Buckland
Pro Bono is a voluntary commitment made by lawyers who understand that the service they provide is invaluable to those individuals who would otherwise be denied access to justice.
As pro bono champions of the Government, the Law Officers support a number of projects through our co-ordinating committees. The Government has also provided funding for several projects, such as the Litigants in Person package run by the Ministry of Justice.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what progress his Department has made on providing disability hate crime training for all prosecutors; and what improvements this training will bring to conviction rates.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
Mandatory training relating to disability hate crime was delivered, across the Crown Prosecution Service, between September 2015 and January 2016.
Prosecutors will deploy the knowledge gained from the training in the course of prosecutions thereby improving performance.
The CPS are enhancing the support provided to prosecutors in dealing with crimes committed against disabled people. They are reviewing their policy and legal guidance on disability hate crime, which will provide assurance to the public of how the CPS intends to deal with such crimes.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, whether he has had discussions with his Northern Ireland counterparts on the recent case of Pastor James McConnell.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The Attorney General and I have not had any discussions on Pastor McConnell’s case with the Attorney General for Northern Ireland or the Public Prosecution Service. The decision to prosecute was a matter for the Public Prosecution Service.